Family Bonds
by Gabby374
Summary: (ON HOLD WHILE BEING REWRITTEN) Carina Black comes back to Hogwarts as Severus Snape's new apprentice with the intention to continue to learn from the best Potion's Master and when the time comes, to serve the Order. But that proves to be hard, when Sirius is on the loose and she is forced to chose between family and loyalty. Severus Snape/OC
1. Prologue

Disclamer: I do not own anyone but my OC. I hope you enjoy this and I apologise for any spelling errors. Reviews are always appreciated!

 **...**

Severus sat in his dimly lit dungeon, carefully sorting out his potions and naming the vials that would be used in the fall. The office was truly a mess, there were stacks of thick, worn out books on his table and the armchairs, potion ingredients that ranged from the simple animal parts to the rarest and most dangerous plants. The green carpet was littered with pages and pages of different recipes, half of them with messily scribbled notes of improvement, and the longer he sat in his mess, the more irritated he became. Severus Snape despised disorganization, and it was one of the many reasons why he resented his younger students. Wand-lessly, he sent the potions back to their place into the dark oak shelves, by the stone walls of his office. He was about to gather the books when a house-elf apparated into his office with a gust of wind, making some of the papers fly around the room.

"What is it?" Severus hissed, annoyed with the disturbance. He already figured that this pathetic creature was sent by Albus, otherwise why would it be here? Apparently his tone, sent the elf into a panic state, as it started to hit its head against Severus' table to punish itself.

"Winky is s-sorry for troubling the p-potions master! Winky is bad! Bad house-elf!" The elf wept in a sorrowful voice, forgetting its purpose for the visitation. Severus sighed and pulled the elf away from his desk, before it left a dent.

"Winky, enough. I did not order you to punish yourself. Why are you here?" Severus asked without any emotion in his voice as his mouth barely moved to speak.

"R-right! Mr Headmaster told Winky to get Severus to his office. Winky was said to say that your presence is needed. Winky was a good elf, Winky came here to tell that to the Potion Master. Winky-" The house elf continued to mutter to itself until Severus cut it off, having heard enough.

"Thank you, Winky, you may leave." He replied before walking out his office, not bothering to see if the elf left.

The hallways were empty to which Severus was grateful. Summer meant that there would be no idiots running through the halls and he wouldn't need to shout at anyone. Making his way to the Headmaster's office, he mumbled yet another ridiculous password and within moments he was granted the entry by the disgusting gargoyle. As Severus entered, he noticed the young Phoenix first, who greeted him with a familiar squawk, then he turned his attention to Dumbledore, immediately noticing another presence.

"You wanted something Albus?" Severus asked disinterestedly as he approached closer and eyed the guest. A familiar guest. The girl, no, _the young woman_ , turned to him and smiled softly. Carina Black had changed a bit since the last time he saw her last year, when she finished her seventh year. Her hair became noticeably shorter, barely reaching her shoulders and it seemed that she had shaved off the left side. Her face was more weary and she sat stiffer, as if awaiting for something to happen.

"Hello, Severus." She mumbled silently as her ice blue eyes met with his dark ones. He nodded slowly in reply and turned to Albus with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure you remember Carina Black. She came here with a request, a request specifically for you. She asked for a job as your apprentice in Potions." Albus with a soft voice informed his loyal and dear friend, who, like Albus suspected, seemed to be revolted by the idea.

"I do not need...an _apprentice_. Good day, professor...Ms Black." Severus sneered out and turned to leave, his cloak flaring behind him. He was down the hallway when he heard footsteps behind him, her voice making him stop dead in his tracks.

"Once you told me you can teach me how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death," Carina announced firmly, repeating his first words to her in class, as she caught up with the Potion's Master, "So teach me professor. Do not turn me away, not after everything... not when I _need_ your help." Her voice softened, and for the first time in the seven years he knew her, Severus saw vulnerability in her eyes.

"Come back in September Ms. Black." Severus drawled before storming away, leaving the smiling, young woman in the hall.

…


	2. Chapter 1

The King Cross station was just as busy as Carina remembered. The murmurs of muggles and an occasional wizard surrounded her, but she did not mind. She liked how lively it was, it made her feel like she belonged and that for a moment her issues did not matter. For a moment she was one of the many people who were rushing to get somewhere else. Muggles or not, they all had the same goal, they all were between the stages of their journey.

Carina didn't rush to find the platform 9 ¾, rather she took a moment to enjoy the freshly brewed coffee, a packet of crisps and a random newspaper. Only when the time drew closer to 11 am, she abandoned her spot in the waiting area and made her way to the platform. Every time she ran through the red, brick wall, her heart skipped a beat in pure excitement and the trill. The moment she stepped closer to the Hogwarts Express, the whole atmosphere shifted. The smell of fried food, coffee, and different perfumes from the little shops disappeared. She was no longer a part of the ordinary people. She was a part of something greater.

The downside of Carina's small adventure in the muggle world was that most seats in the cabins of the trains were taken by students. She did not want to sit with children and hear their blabbers about rumors and whatever not. Fortunately for her, there was one cabin with an older looking person. Carina frowned, he most certainly was not a student, it was a surprise to see a teacher on board. Carina slid open the door and wordlessly lifted up her small luggage onto the overhead compartment. Her eyes glanced at the man's worn off truck with the letters R.J.L carved neatly on it. Interesting. The person looked up from his book and smiled friendly to her.

"I'm professor Lupin, the new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Remus introduced himself, offering her his hand for a handshake.

"Carina Black." Carina answered shortly, smiling back politely and shook his hand, her grip was firm and confident. At the mention of her name, Remus' eyebrows rose in surprise, he didn't expect to meet the sister of his best friend.

"Black as in Sirius' sister? Blimey, the last time I've seen you, you barely reached 3 foot." Remus exclaimed, still taken back at how much she had grown. Last time he saw her, she was a small, excited toddler who never sat still for more than two minutes and now she was a grown, young woman. He could see so much of Sirius in her, and his chest ached a little at the memory of him.

"Have we met before?" Carina asked raising her eyebrow at him in curiosity.

"You probably don't remember but I was great friends with your brother before he…" Lupin trailed off, looking away. Carina perfectly understood him, she knew what Sirius had done when she was only six.

"Did he...you know..made any contact?" She asked silently as she clenched her jaw to which Remus shook his head. They fell into a silence, neither of them wanting to carry on with the conversation. The topic weighed on their hearts like a stone and it was better to just push it back. It was better not to open old wounds.

The train left King Cross, making its scenery trip once again. The silence was finally broken down when a group of three opened the door to their cabin and sat down. It seemed that Remus had fallen asleep, wrapped up in a maroon coloured, worn out blanket while Carina was turned to the window, pretending to be focused on the passing fields and trees. The group chatted for a bit, but they too fell into a silence. Whatever they were talking about prior was not meant to fall on adults' ears.

It was getting dark outside as the rain poured onto the window, they were not too far away from Hogwarts when an unusual occurrence happened. The train had stopped in its tracks in the middle of nowhere, the air shifted and the window started to freeze over. Carina frowned, she felt the cold bite her limbs and her heart started to beat faster. Something was wrong.

"Why we stopping?" The younger girl asked as her eyes shifted around the cabin, meeting Carina's eyes for a split second. The train moved abruptly for a moment, making the younger students shift in their seats to prevent themselves from falling.

"I don't know...maybe we've broken down." The boy with glasses suggested a moment before the lights turned off.

"That does not feel like a common breakdown." Carina finally spoke, her voice sounded stiff and serious. The lights flickered back on for a moment before drowning them into the darkness once more. Carina could see her own breath as she shakily breathed out, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to produce some sort of heat.

"Whatever happens stay back." She whispered to the trio and glanced at Remus who was still out. She was about to nudge him awake but the doors opened wide, making her freeze in her tracks. Slowly her blue eyes met with a big mass of black. _A dementor_. Carina swiftly pulled out her wand but it was too late, the beast moved into the cabin, its full attention turned to her her and the boy with glasses. Carina couldn't describe how she felt, everything dulled down and it seemed as if time froze in place. All she could feel was the coldness settling in and the happiness leaving her body, her head started to pound painfully as her eyes teared up in the sudden fear.

"Expecto pa-" Carina whispered weakly as the world started to black out, her spell failing mid sentence. The sudden, bright, warm, light behind her blinded her for a moment, making her knees give out on her. With a small thump she felt to the ground and as she breathed faster, she tried to focus her vision. She noticed the boy passed out just like she almost had and while she tried to gain back her control, Remus helped to put him back on the seat.

Carina sat back down in her seat and looked at the trio as well as Remus. He looked tired, as if his sleep did little to rest him, the girl looked concerned as she knelt in front of her fallen friend and the ginger boy looked confused, trying to process what just happened. Carina took a moment to look at the boy more carefully, finally noticing his scar. _Ah, Harry Potter_. She heard a lot of stories about him, especially from Draco, whenever he spoke about Potter, his eyes filled with hate and he always made the infamous Malfoy sneer, looking exactly like his father.

"Here eat this, it will help," Remus mumbled giving the piece of chocolate to Harry as soon as he woke up. She could see the confusion in his eyes, and she couldn't blame him. After what happened, the last thing you expect is chocolate from a stranger.

"It's all right, it is chocolate." Remus added with a smile, trying not to scare the boy.

"What..What was that thing?" Harry asked weakly as he gripped the chocolate in his hand and looked up at the professor.

"A dementor. He was looking for Sirius Black." Carina cut in as she stood up, needing to leave. She excused herself and left the cabin, turning she walked to the back of the train to look for Draco, to see if he was alright. After all, he was family.

...

The great hall was filled with students and teachers. To say that Carina felt out of place by sitting at the teacher's table was an understatement. She sat in silence between Severus and Remus, and as she listened to the weirdest song that the choir was singing, she could feel the tension between the two men. Severus sat straight and stiff as a board and his face bore no expression while Remus was more relaxed, he had a soft smile on his face as he listened to the song. _Why the hell did the choir sing about something wicked?_

Albus Dumbledore rose to his stance, his warm blue eyes looked at his students with care as he began his speech.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

"As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises - or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors." Dumbledore stopped shortly, letting the words to sink in. The escape of Sirius Black was a serious threat and Dumbledore was not going to take any risks and have Hogwarts unprotected. Even if it meant, having Dementors around the school.

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome three new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Miss Carina Svart will be assisting professor Severus Snape in Potions."

"As to our third new appointment, well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

"Well, I think that is everything of importance. Let the feast begin!" The three new teachers stood up for a moment as the students began to clap. Carina smiled and nodded ever so lightly to Dumbledore in thanks. She was revealed that the headmaster did not reveal her full identity, rather changing her family name into Swedish.

"Well, I think that is everything of importance. Let the feast begin!"

...

 **A/n: Thank you all for reading, it means a lot! I hope you enjoy and if you have any questions be sure to ask! As well as that, reviews do mean a lot to me.**


	3. Chapter 2

"Today's classes include First, Seventh and Fourth Years for the morning period. Followed by Third, Sixth and Fifth Years in the afternoon. For these classes you will help to prepare Cure for Boils, Shrinking Solution, Poison Antidote, Antidote to Uncommon Poisons, Hiccoughing Solution and lastly Calming Draught in the order of the years. I expect you to have the intelligence not to mess them up in front of everyone and make a fool of yourself, and most importantly of me." Severus explained curtly as Carina sat on one of the dark leather chairs in his office, drinking her morning coffee. She arrived an hour early to go over the plans for the first day and suggested they could get coffee before the classes start. Severus didn't voice out a reply but soon enough two cups of freshly brewed coffee appeared on his table. The small office didn't changed in the least since the last time she was here. Like Carina expected, the room was filled with different ingredients and books, as well as with the few decorative models of molecular formation of potions that were placed on the shelves.

"Of course professor, I know what I'm doing." Carina replied with a smile on her face. She felt the Slytherin in her swell up with pride and confidence, she was the best of the best in potions. The sleepless hours of her school years spent in second floor bathroom and later on in the Room of Requirements, brewing various potions earned her the top marks and most importantly, caught the attention of the Potion's Master.

"The Headmaster wished me to remind you that it will be better for everyone if you refrain from using your real identity due to _certain_ circumstances." Severus added distastefully, his eyes darkening. His whole body stiffened at the thought of the elder Black and rage filled his mind.

"I made the mistake of saying who I am to professor Lupin on the train, I won't make it again." She agreed quietly, not wishing to ruin Severus' mood as well as her own. Her brother's escape was not something she wanted to discuss with others, especially not with students.

"Good, and for the love of Merlin, fix your hair, I will not have dunderheads running around the place with half shaved heads." Severus added with a light glare as if her choice of hairstyle would affect his reputation. Perhaps it would, she couldn't know for sure. Carina was glad, relieved even, that he chose to change the subject that she didn't protest or answer with sarcasm or wit. Instead she stood up, vacating her spot, and walked towards the exit. In the last moment she turned to the seemingly bare, grey brick wall and put her hand on the rough surface.

" _Specialis Revelio_ " Carina whispered closing her eyes briefly. A smile lit up her face when the familiar, dark oak, arched doors appeared in front of her. Pushing them open, she easily navigated through the narrow corridor until it expanded into the living area of the chambers. It was by far, more spacious and dare she say, comfortable, than his office. While the rooms were still themed in green and black colours, the fireplace warmed up the place quite well and the tall, arched windows let in spells of sun, by magic, to instill life into the place. The main area wasn't overcrowded with furniture, the green carpet covered the cold ground and the small, round coffee table fit in well between the two black, leather couches that were positioned beside the fireplace. Walking across the room, passing the private library and the stairs to the bedrooms, Carina entered the bathroom. It was just like she remembered, it was a simple, small room with a rather luxurious bath to the side, oak cabinets opposite to it and a full body mirror to the side. Stepping in front of the mirror, Carina pulled out her wand that was made out of Cedar Wood with Rougarou hair core and glanced at it with love and appreciation. Putting it lightly against her shaved side Carina whispered ' _recreat'_ and slowly guided it down until her hair matched the same length. In the mirror, she looked older and more mature than she felt, the long teaching robes, enchanted against fire, engulfed her small figure, covering most of her skin with the black layers.

Within few moments Carina returned to Severus and raised her eyebrow with a small smirk on her face.

"Better?" She asked in a playful manner, making Severus look up from The Daily Prophet. He nodded, folding the paper, he threw it on the table and rose from his seat at the table.

"You know where you'll find the textbooks, I believe it is time for us to go." Severus uttered indifferently and lead her to her first classes of being an apprentice.

…

The first few classes passed in a blur, since it was the first day of the new school year, all Carina had to do was to listen to Severus as he announced the plans for the upcoming year and make sure that students, especially the younger ones, didn't blow themselves up. It was clear from the dead silence in the full classroom that Severus still scared the hell out of the students and they did not want to lose House points for even breathing too loudly. Unless they were Slytherin. Severus spent most of the classes sitting by his table, elegantly holding his quill as his wrote down notes on a roll of parchment paper while Carina walked around the classroom, checking the cauldrons and preventing some students from either putting in the wrong ingredient or the right one too quickly.

"Put that away unless you want to stay in detention and scrub the green boils out of the desk and the floor." Carina snapped as she stood behind a Fourth Year, startling the young girl and almost making her drop the incorrect ingredient into her potion.

"What's your name and your House?" Carina asked as she glanced at the cauldron and pulled out her wand, wordlessly summoning the Toasted Dragonfly Thoraxes from the table and putting them in before adjusting the temperature.

"Marie Larson, Hufflepuff, Miss Svart." The girl replied timidly, not daring to look up.

"Fifteen points from Hufflepuff for lack of attention and inability to tell a difference between what I hope was toasted dragonfly thoraxes and whatever you attempted to put in ." Severus spoke out not lifting his his eyes from the parchment.

"For this mistake, I want everyone to write a foot long essay that outlines the difference between Toasted Dragonfly thoraxes and-?" He added and glanced up to Carina for an answer. Perhaps it was useful to have someone that would deal with the dunderheads.

"Doxy Eggs." Carina answered and left the furiously blushing girl at who everyone glared with annoyance.

Once the bell ran half an hour later, everyone dashed for the exit, fearing that if they stayed a moment later they'd end up at detention as well. Carina placed the book back into the storage cabinet and stretched her arms, ready for lunch. She glanced at Severus who was gathering his papers, sorting them out in order as he did so, peeking her curiosity.

"May I ask what you are working on, sir?" Carina asked as she looked at his table. Severus looked at her for a moment, considering whether to share the information or not and lastly nodded.

"I'm trying to create a potion that would work as a faster antidote towards the rarest curses. It's in the beginning stages and I'm hoping it will progress into the trial stages by the beginning of New Year's." Severus explained as he motioned for her to come closer and showed the formulas and light diagrams.

"Can I help?" She asked, her eyes scanning through the pages, soaking in all the information.

"I don't-" Severus was about to refuse but Carina interrupted him by pointing out a small detail on the fourth page.

"I think you meant to write 5.46 instead of 5.64 grams as the equation will not balance, and you'll have excess Moondew which might interfere with other ingredients." She mumbled quietly, frowning as she did the math in her head.

"Not bad Ms.B- Svart. Perhaps I'll allow you to take part in some aspects of this project." Severus acknowledged his error after checking the answer, making the younger witch grin. Severus never complimented anyone and while technically it was not a compliment, Carina took it as such.

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door and a third year Slytherin barged inside breathlessly.

"Sir! Mr. Malfoy was in-injured and now is in the H-hospital Wing." The student informed them as he tried to catch his breath from running.

"Dismissed." Severus hissed out, as he left the classroom in a harry with Carina trailing behind him. Wordlessly, they parted their ways with Severus going towards his office and Carina storming off to the Hospital Wing.

…

"What the bloody hell were you thinking, Draco?" Carina snapped glaring down at the younger wizard lying on the bed with his arm in the sling.

"It wasn't my fault! It was the bloody-" Draco defending himself, or tried to until she cut him off.

"You idiot! What did you think would happen? What do you think will happen when Lucius hears about it? Bloody hell, he probably already did. Do you even think at all? Or are you so full of ignorance that you forget that you have a brain that can function? Or did you figure it was a good idea to piss off a full grown Hippogriff?" Carina ranted, angrily clenching and un-clenching her fist. Anger replaced her worry and she shook with it, her nose flaring as she paced the floor. What if he got injured worse? What if the Hippogriff had nicked him against his neck? Or…

"Alright, I'm - " Draco mumbled lowly, his Malfoy pride leaving him for the first time and it was replaced by a small pang of guilt.

"Sorry? You damn will be when I'm done with you…" Carina stopped in her tracks and looked at him for the first time today. His uniform was torn in places, the blond hair messed up and he looked paler than usual. Paler and younger. She sighed and pulled out a chair beside him.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Carina finally asked in a quiet voice as she scanned him through, looking for any other injuries that she might have missed.

"No...well not really." Draco muttered but the small wince didn't slide past her watchful eyes. She smiled lightly and nudged his good arm playfully.

"Serves you right, you idiot." Carina smirked, the anger was slowly leaving her, which was replaced by the fondness of their friendship. Draco rolled his eyes and smirked back with the identical smirk of his father.

"So how was your first day?"

They ended up chatting for about half an hour, throwing small jokes here and there. That was until a small, brown owl flew in and dropped a letter on Carina's lap before flying out. Carina didn't need to open the letter to know from whom it was. Carina's and Draco's eyes met for a brief,uncomfortable moment and Carina opened the short, to the point letter.

 _Miss Carina Black,_

 _I request your presence in the Malfoy Manor as soon as possible._

 _Yours Sincerely,_

 _Lucius Malfoy._

…

 **A/N: Finally a new chapter is up! I'm sorry for a late reply, my life is quite hectic with final year of high school and family life at the moment. But I hope you enjoy it! It's currently 4 am so I apologise for the grammar errors and I promise, I'll correct it as soon as possible. I always love reviews and I am grateful for them cx**


	4. Chapter 3

Carina returned to Hogwarts late in the evening, the light of the stars in the clear night's sky guided her back through Hogwarts's grounds. The tiredness was settling in her bones and all she wanted was to get into her warm bed and sleep forever. The wine she had for dinner with Lucius and Narcissa had left a warm, fuzzy feeling in her body, making her sleepier than usual.

..

 _At Carina's presence the black iron gates opened widely to let her into the Malfoy Manor. She walked up the beautifully decorated driveway and entered the enormous Manor that symbolised wealth and luxury as well as her home. The lights shone through the diamond-paned downstairs windows, where Carina was certain that Narcissa sat beside the fireplace with a book in her hands. Without waiting, she walked down the large, dimly lit, hallway into the Drawing Room._

" _Mother," Carina addressed the woman with a warm smile. Narcissa looked up, put the book down on the armchair before rising up and pulling the younger witch into a tight hug._

" _It's great to see you dear, I presume you are staying for dinner?" Narcissa asked once they parted and Carina nodded, sitting down in the armchair beside. She could see that Narcissa was happy to see her again but her stiffened posture betrayed her worry for Draco after today's events._

" _Draco is fine, it was merely a scratch. Under my order, he was free to return to the common room tonight and I brewed up few potions for the next couple of days in case his arm is hurting." Carina explained making Narcissa relax for the first time today. Narcissa didn't trust the letter she got from Severus, informing that her son was injured in a class but was already taken care of._

" _The boy will be the death of me." Narcissa muttered under her breath as she sipped her wine. Wordlessly, Carina summoned a glass for herself and enjoyed the warmth of the fire for few moments._

" _How mad is Lucius?" Carina asked after a moment in a low voice, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. When Lucius was mad, he tended to be unbearable to people around him._

" _As much as you would expect him to. You probably should not make him wait more than necessary." Narcissa suggested. Carina nodded, finishing her glass, she rose to go to Lucius office. She knocked on the door before letting herself in. Lucius didn't lift his eyes as she entered, he didn't even acknowledge her presence as she sat down on one of the leathered chairs. Not until he finished his letter._

" _You took your time." Lucius stated as he rolled up the scroll and tied it to his black owl's leg before opening the window for the animal to fly out. Only then did he looked at her, and to her surprise Lucius's eyes were calm grey as he walked back to his seat with elegance. She expected fury and anger, a need for revenge at least, but he showed nothing. It looked as if he already won the battle._

" _I do have classes to teach." She mumbled, watching him closely, her eyes never leaving his, as she tried to figure out why he was so calm._

" _Lucius," Carina addressed him after a moment of silence. "Will you enlighten me of your victory?" she asked sarcastically as she leaned into the chair. The office felt completely familiar to her as she spent the majority of her six years of residence with the Malfoys sitting in the same exact chair while her young mind tried to figure out the mysterious man who barely showed any affection to his family. The forbidden office with different books and interesting magical objects that mesmerised Carina and after some effort she was finally let inside by Lucius when she was thirteen. The office had a personal fireplace, with the floo connection to the Ministry, and the room was surrounded by shelves of books, varying from Potions to The Dark Arts. The ground was covered with thick, green carpet, the oak wood table was placed in the middle of the room, covered in different papers and few quills sat neatly at the corner._

" _Attentive as always I see," Lucius smirked, "But if you must know, I took the case to court earlier today. Dear Cornelius already promised me that the the stupid bird will be executed by the end of the year." Carina nodded satisfied with the answer. She couldn't say that she felt pity for the bird, yes to her it was a loss of life but it had injured Draco. The injury could have been much worse and Carina didn't like to take second chances, not when it involved her family._

" _Cornelius was awfully gracious." Carina chuckled, knowing well enough that Lucius had something to do with it. She envied his skill to manipulate even highest authorities._

" _What can I say, he owes a lot of his success to us."_

 _..._

The next day, after the classes, Carina watched Severus in silence as he brewed a new batch of What she identified as Wolfsbane Potion. The potion already was fuming with its blue smoke and distinct smell. She couldn't exactly place a name to the smell but it was not the nicest thing she ever breathed in. She didn't ask any questions, Carina had entered Severus personal laboratory as he started to brew and for the last two hours she observed. It was an advanced potion, even the creator had troubles producing it, and she didn't dare to interrupt him by idle talk. Severus was concentrated, he frowned slightly as his eyes constantly travelled from the book to the cauldron, from time to time he delicately and with such precision cut the ingredients and carefully placed them in the cauldron. His sleeves were rolled back from their usual position up to his wrists and he had undone the top two buttons from his robes due to heat that the cauldron produced. Carina had to admit to herself that he indeed looked very handsome like this, she admired how concentrated he looked, as if in that moment the whole world ceased to exist.

"If you insist standing there, make yourself useful and bring over some bottles for the potion." Severus finally acknowledged her presence with a sharp tone. Carina wordlessly took them from one of the shelves and carried it over to him, holding them as he poured in the tick mixture.

"Who is this for?" Carina asked silently as Severus put out the cauldron and cleaned up the work space.

"Take an educated guess , I'm sure you can figure it out." He replied with light sarcasm as a smirk found its way onto his face. Carina recalled all the faces of the teaching staff, trying to remember any detail that would give the secret away.

"Remus Lupin?" She took a guess remembering his haunted eyes and his rough attire. But if he was indeed a werewolf, that would mean Sirius had known about it and for a moment her heart filled with warmth and pride, her brother hadn't abandoned his friend in the time of need. She liked to think that her older sibling was a good man at some point, a kind man with great friends by his side. Over the years she heard different stories about him and a big part of her wanted to know what kind of person was he before madness overtook him and ripped any chances of her knowing her only living brother.

"Excellent guess. I must say, you should challenge Ms. Granger for the know-it-all status." Severus mumbled in such matter-of-fact tone that Carina laughed.

"I might do so, whatever it takes to impress you." She joked lightly. Severus just rolled his eyes in reply and handed her the potions.

"Be useful and bring this to Lupin." He dismissed her as he rolled down his sleeves to hide away the remaining of his visible skin.

…

Carina placed the potion in her pocket and tugged her cloak closer to her shivering body, trying to warm herself up as she walked down the narrow, dark corridor. Most of the paintings were already snoring away and she felt no desire to shine her wand and wake everyone up. Instead, she chose to blindly follow her memory to find her way to Lupin's classroom, trying to make as little sound as possible.

"As far as I know, nightly strolls are not permitted to students, ." Carina called out, noticing the young boy in front of her. She smirked lightly as she saw him jump up in fright and swiftly turning around facing her with wide eyes. The slytherin in her hissed with pleasure, liking the fact that she managed to catch someone in surprise.

"I- uh.." Harry muttered nervously, he clearly didn't expect to be caught, especially not by his new Potions teacher.

"Relax Harry, I'm not here to get you, not yet at least." Carina chuckled lightly before adding "Come, I'll walk you back to your Common Room." Harry nodded and followed in silence for few moments.

"Professor- "

"My name is Carina, I'm not technically a professor."

"But you work for Snape- "

" _Professor_ Snape, Harry." Carina cut him in with a stern look. While she didn't mind to be called by her name, she didn't like any disrespect to Severus.

"Why would you ever work with him?" Harry asked curiously. He couldn't imagine anyone working alongside with the greasy dungeon git who treated everyone, especially him, like filth.

"Because I want to become Potion Mistress and it takes years of apprenticeship and work to even be eligible for exams. Professor Snape is one of the best Potion Masters." She explained as if it was the most obvious answer, it was the simplest answer she could give without revealing too much.

"Now why are you sneaking around in this hour?" Carina asked the boy, mirroring his curiosity. She was curious about the young Potter who was said to be the Chosen One. Carina didn't pay much attention to him in his first few years, she had exams to worry about and she was preoccupied with learning everything from Severus.

"I couldn't sleep...We had Divination for the first time and-"

"And she predicted your Death, caused by something horrible?" Carina interrupted raising her eyebrow.

"Yeah how did you know?" Harry asked surprised and looked up at her. He started to like Carina, she seemed smart and friendly enough, though he did note that she interrupted him quite a bit.

"Trelawney enjoys to scare her students by predicting their death. I bloody hated the subject, she used to predict everyone's death at least once a month. I personally liked my own death the best, she predicted that I'd jump off the Astronomy tower under the illusion that I could fly. Bloody nonsense." Carina chuckled humorously recalling her days in Divination.

"Maybe you dream of being an owl?" Harry asked innocently as he grinned at her story. They reached the entrance of the Gryffindor Tower and Harry found himself feeling disappointed that their conversation had come to an end.

"Do not worry your head over false predictions Harry, and next time don't get caught sneaking around. Other's are not as kind as me." With another smirk she was gone and Harry entered the Tower.

…

The light in Remus' classroom was still on by the time Carina made her way to him. She knocked on the opened door and let herself in with a small smile.

"Ah, to what do I owe the pleasure of your late visit?" Remus asked warmly as he looked up from his table. He still looked as tired as always and dark circles surrounded his eyes.

"Just passing through I suppose." Carina answered as she walked across her room and stopped right in front of him. Slowly she pulled out the potions out of her pocket and put them on the table. Remus' smile disappeared and he froze in his seat, it looked as if he was awaiting for her blow.

"You know?" He asked quietly, not meeting her eyes.

"Yes, though it is none of my business. I was asked to deliver them to you." Carina confirmed with a light nod, feeling pity for the man in front of her. No one deserved that kind of faith.

"Thank you Carina...Perhaps we could get some tea together tomorrow? I'd love to know you better." Remus asked in a hopeful voice, finally looking up to meet her eyes. He felt relieved that he didn't find disgust or anger on her face.

"Sure, I'd love to." Carina smiled and set to leave but stopped by the door. For a moment she looked lost, arguing with herself in whether she should ask her question or not.

"Remus?" She finally asked in a quiet, uncertain voice.

"Yes?"

"Was he... a good man?"

"He was one of the best men I have ever known."

…

Carina made her way across the courtyard to her chambers but her mind was troubled. She tried not to think about Sirius, it was useless to think about what ifs and what could have been. Yet, despite her logic, she still worried about him, especially now that he escaped. Murderer or not, he was her family and she worried about him. Perhaps it was because of her traitorous mind that for a moment Carina thought she saw the eyes of a black dog in the darkness of the night. But when she blinked, it was gone.

 **...**

 **A/N: I'd like to thank you all for reading my story and favouring/following it. It truly means a lot. Like I've mentioned before, this is my first Harry Potter book so I apologise that it is not perfect or that it might not capture the characters completely right. There is a lot going on in my life at the moment with my family and school and I feel like writing is one of the few escapes that I have. So really, thank you all for reading.**

 **Much Love.**


	5. Note:

Sorry guys, this is not an update. I started to really dislike the first few chapters of this story and I will be rewriting it to a better version. I feel as if it is too forced and the OC character is too unfamiliar. While I know Carina almost as good as I know myself, I put myself in a difficult position of writing her in the middle of the canon story and can't portray her as well as I wish to. Therefore I am taking a step back and writing a sort of prequel to this, to introduce her much better and in a way explain what role she has and why she will do the things she does. I do apologise for this, but I do hope you will give the story a go,


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